The MPD / DID controversy

History and timeline of events

Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen, author of the book "Making minds and madness: from hysteria to
depression," has investigated why various "maladies of the soul" such as
hysteria, melancholy, vapors, grande hysteria, neurasthenia, and shell shock
became
popular at various times, and later virtually disappeared. 1,2 He concluded that some
mental illnesses do not exist naturally, but are cultural artifacts that are created by the interaction of
a therapist with a patient. That is, they are iatrogenic.

There have been stories throughout history of people who have behaved strangely, and
who later were unable to recall their actions. But the first medical studies of what we now
call MPD/DID did not appear until the 1800s. It was regarded as an extremely rare medical
curiosity until the mid 1950's. The incidence of MPD/DID exploded after the
books "The Three Faces of Eve" and "Sybil" were published
and made into movies. Borch-Jacobsen
and other sources note:

1944: A 1944 "review of
the literature by Taylor and Martin found only 76 documented cases of MPD"
worldwide prior to the review. 3

1956: A fictional novel, presented as a documentary and titled "The Three Faces of Eve,"
described a woman who was believed to have three personalities. 4This was
the first multiple personality book to catch the imagination of the public.

1957: "Eve" was made into a movie. It had a
profound effect on the public, convincing many that multiple personalities were both
possible and common. Joanne Woodward won an Academy Award and Golden Globe award
for her portrayal of Eve.

1968: MPD was defined in the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-II) as a hysterical neuroses.

1973: The book "Sybil" was published.
5
It was a documentary describing a woman's experience with MPD in therapy. She was believed to
be possessed by 16 personalities.

1976: "Sybil" was broadcast as a made-for-TV movie. Sally Field won
an Emmy for her performance as Sybil. Joanne Woodward played the role of
Sybil's mother. The movie made a major contribution to the public's perception
and acceptance of MPD.

1979: A study found "... only two hundred cases of MPD in
all recorded medical history" up to that time. 6

1980:

George Greaves reported 37 cases since 1971.

Eugene Bliss said he had personally seen 14 cases.

The American Psychiatric Association redefined MPD in DSM-III as one of
four dissociative disorders. These disorders
have in common "a sudden, temporary alteration in the normally integrative
functions of consciousness, identity, or motor behavior." MPD is differentiated
from other dissociative disorders by the following symptoms:

The individual switches between two or more distinct personalities

Control of the individual is held by whichever personality is in control at a given time

"Each individual personality is complex and integrated with its own unique
behavior patterns and social relationships." 7

1980s: The introduction of Recovered
Memory Therapy (RMT) gave therapists a method which appeared
to recover images of early childhood abuse. These images often coalesced over
time into
memories which the therapist and patient believe were the root cause of MPD. Belief in
widespread Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) was triggered by the publication
of a novel titled "Michelle Remembers" about the same time. This
gave a rationale for therapists to expect high levels of MPD in the general population.

1982:

Myron Boor reported having seen 79 cases.

Richard Kluft had seen 130 cases of which he had treated 70.

1984: There were 1,000 cases reported.

1989: There were 4,000 cases reported.

1991: Colin Ross said MPD affects 1% of population. This implied
that just under 2.5 million Americans either had MPD, or would develop it in the future.

1990s:

"Some
psychiatrists and psychologists specializing in the treatment of MPD
...estimated that twenty to thirty thousand people" suffered from the
disorder. 8

Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen wrote later that: "from the beginning of the 1990s
onwards, 'multiples' were everywhere -- in therapy, in psychiatric hospitals,
on television, and in the courts." 9

Reinder Van Til, "Lost Daughters: Recovered Memory Therapy and the
people it hurts," Eerdmand (1997), P. 178 to 182. This book deals
mainly with the recovered memory therapy hoax which damaged hundreds of
thousands of lives during the 1980s and 1990s. The author briefly discusses
the case of Sybil.